Presented by (((folkYEAH!))) and Gundlach Bundschu Winery at the Sebastiani Theatre

Doors 7pm/Show 8pm

Isabella Rossellini – actress, filmmaker, author, philanthropist

In 2004, Rossellini acted in an Off-Broadway production of Terrence McNally’s The Stendhal Syndrome, alongside Richard Thomas.

In the live show, Rossellini explores the topics of homosexuality (“I think society has made the mistake of seeing the act of making love or mating as an act of reproduction, when actually it is used for other things, too. Animals use it for social events, bonding, solving conflict and so on.”) and maternal instincts, and has explained that her research has influenced her perspective on societal notions of beauty: “If you look at nature, there is no perfection. Everything is always evolving and adapting according to whatever the environmental pressure. The more diversity there is, the more things are going to survive.”

Rossellini debuted the live version of Green Porno at the Adelaide Festival of Arts on 15 March 2014 and was warmly received by the audience. The show was the first of the 2014 program to sell out. Much of the production and backstage documentary footage was shot and directed by her nephew Tommaso Rossellini.

Rossellini’s “smallest circus in the world,” a stage play exploring the ability of animals to think, was premiered in May 2018, at the Jerome Robbins Theater of the Baryshnikov Arts Center. The play “addresses the scientific discoveries about animal minds, intelligence, and emotions. Joined onstage by various animals portrayed by Pan, her trained dog, Rossellini transforms herself into Aristotle, Descartes, F.S. Skinner, Charles Darwin, and more, to deliver a vivid monologue about the brilliance of the animal kingdom.”

Rossellini performed “Link Link Circus” (as in Ring Ring)as a benefit for The Gateway Performing Arts Center of Suffolk County, in Bellport, New York, the south shore Long Island village where she is a local organic farmer. “Link Link Circus” is performed by Rossellini in a black and red ringmaster’s tailcoat, with the assistance of her dog, Peter Pan, who performs a few tricks and is costumed as other animals including a chicken and a dinosaur. In addition to Rossellini and Pan, the production includes puppets, handled by puppeteer Schuyler Beeman, and still photos, home movies, animation and excerpts from her “Green Porno” film series projected on a large screen behind the set decorated with Rossellini’s childhood toys, including a marionette stage and a toy upright piano, which Rossellini plays in the show. The set was designed by Andy Byers, who is also the Costume Designer and Composer for the show. In promoting the show, which was performed twice at The Gateway, Rossellini was featured in Long Island’s Newsday. Proceeds from The Gateway production of “Link Link Circus” also benefited The Plaza Cinema & Media Arts Center, a nonprofit located near Rossellini’s Bellport home in Patchogue, New York.

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